LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Nobel Prize for Indian Subcontinent-I
CHILD rights activists – Kailash Satyarthi of India and Malala Yousafzai of Pakistan – have been honoured with the 2014 Nobel Prize for Peace for championing the rights of children who are out of school for various reasons. Significantly, the award comes at a time of heightened aggression across our borders targeting children and unarmed civilians. Malala has invited the Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan Narendra Modi and Nawaz Saharif respectively to be present at the award giving ceremony in December. The leaders should accept the invitation and honour the two Nobel laureates by signing a no belligerence pact against targeting of children and their families across the borders.
ROBERT CASTELLINO, CalanguteNobel Prize for Indian Subcontinent-II
FROM this year’s Nobel Peace Prize winners it is seen that the Nobel committee is very much concerned about the rights of the child for a secure future and education. By giving the prize to the Indian child activist Kailash Satyarthi and campaigner for education for the girl child from Pakistan Malala Yousufzai, the committee has brought to the world focus the plight of the children in both the countries. The fact that the peace prize has been awarded to the citizens of the two countries when guns are booming across the border, has shown that peace has won over aggression. It is now for both the countries to address the problem of child labour and providing an opportunity for education for the children, specially the girl child. It is indeed a matter of pride for both the countries the award should serve as a beacon to move towards better relationship and cooperation so that there is lasting peace in the region.
ADELMO FERNANDES, VascoOn Women Priests in Church
THIS is with reference to the two letters ‘Make women Church priests ‘ by Michael Vaz (NT, October 7, 2014) and ‘Priesthood for women in Church undesirable’ by Robert Castellino (NT, October 9, 2014). There are a lot of changes and reforms that we as laypeople would like to see in the Church administration and worship. However, it is important to remember that the Church is not a democratic institution which is run in accordance with the wishes of the people. Ordination of women to the priesthood is just one of the several contentious issues which needs to be discussed and debated in the biblical, theological, doctrinal and canonical perspectives , taking into account also the Church’s longstanding and unbroken Apostolic tradition of male priesthood .Earlier, it was saint Pope Paul John Paul II who laid the matter to rest when women in the Church started to agitate for equal rights in the Church’s ministries and ordination to the priesthood, when he categorically stated that such rights cannot be fought for in the Church as in a court of law.
A F NAZARETH, Alto PorvorimRuthless Tree Cutting
INDISCRIMINATE tree cutting is going on in Goa. Recently a 100-year-old rain tree was felled at Miramar. This is absolutely outrageous. The Conservator of Forests should explain why the permission was given to cut down such a tree. The current government seems to have lost control on preserving environment and natural heritage of our beautiful state. We need to get a monitoring body to put an end to such outrageous acts.
ARWIN MESQUITA, Colva